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Bruparck is a leisure complex on the Heysel plateau, comprising 5 main attractions:
The Atomium Océade - a big swimming pool complex Kinepolis - a 30 screen multiplex cinema, including an IMAX, showing films in English with subtitles, as well as dubbed into French Mini-Europe – which will be the main subject of this review The Village – this is a complex of restaurants, ranging from fast food to more traditional Belgian bistros and restaurants like Chez Léon, with a traditional merry-go-round and pirate ship play area.
MINI-EUROPE In short Mini-Europe is a theme park in the shadow of the Atomium, where you can walk past 1/25 scale models of many of the great buildings of Europe.
In addition to looking at the model buildings, there is an interactive exhibition about the European Union, a cafeteria and a gift shop.
THE BUILDINGS The models are the star of the show. The original selection of buildings was made back in 1987 by a committee of art historians. At that time, there were just 12 Member States in the European Community (as it was then), as opposed to 27 now.
The buildings are made after an elaborate process, with various parts cut out of different materials (wood, cardboard etc), before being mounted on a plate which is used to form a silicone mould. The buildings are then made from the mould using epoxy resin or polyester, and painted in accurate detail. This is a pains-taking exercise, and the park often quotes the fact that the model for the Cathedral of Santiago de Compastela took 24,000 man hours to complete.
For the UK, the buildings selected include the House of Parliament, Longleat House, Dover Castle, the Royal Crescent in Bath, Anne Hathaway’s cottage at Stratford-upon-Avon and Arlington Row from the Cotswold village of Bibury. The tower housing Big Ben is 4m high, and depending on where you stand, you can compose pictures with some interesting backdrops, whether it be the model of the Eiffel Tower or the real-life Atomium (some 102m high).
There are now buildings from 23 of the 27 current EU member states. Obviously there are more from the countries which were in the EU when the park opened, but each area starts with a plate with basic information – flag, population, surface area, year of joining EU, and exchange rate with the euro. For non-euro members like the UK, this is very rough and approximate.
There are lots of buttons for children to press. Each country’s information plate is mounted on a low pillar with a button, which when pressed leads the relevant national anthem to be played. There are buttons to operate the bullfight in Seville, the ferris wheel in Belgium (near Dinant), the bulldozer pulling down the Berlin wall and the eruption of Vesuvius (which is on a scale of 1/1000). There are even handles to operate the windmills in the Netherlands, and you can wait to watch the launch of the European space rocket, Ariane V.
WHO WOULD ENJOY IT? We, the adults, were very impressed with the improvements that have been made since we were last there two years ago. The quality of the buildings is very impressive, and those from the new Member states have been incorporated very well, without making the park feel unduly cramped or sacrificing quality. They have already marked out the plots for the last four countries, although it was not clear when the buildings for these would be ready. If you are interested in architecture, the choice of buildings has been very well made.
As part of the entrance fee, you get given a booklet – they ask the language at the entrance. This glossy colour brochure explains all the buildings as you walk round, while also setting out to give you facts about the European Union. Some may find it verges on the propaganda, and while there are a few errors still, there is a lot of very useful information here.
There is plenty for the children to press and look at, with boats, trains, helicopters and lorries moving around, and even a fire being put out in the model of Barcelona harbour.
IS IT WORTH IT? You should allow an hour and a half to do the park without rushing. In that time, you see some very well made and interesting models from throughout the EU, and the booklet is informative and easy to understand. The interactive Spirit of Europe exhibition is aimed as school children, but is not a bad way to round of the visit or pass time while waiting for the rain to stop.
For adults, the cost is €12.20, children €9.20, while those under 1.20m tall get in for free. To me, this is a reasonable price. Coffee in the cafeteria was €2, and was not great, and the souvenir shop had a wide range of things that I could not see myself buying.
At the entrance, you get photographed with an orange turtle and the pictures are available to buy, either as 6x4 photos or key rings for €6 as a souvenir. If you buy the key ring, on the reverse you get a picture of one of the buildings from Mini-Europe set in front of the Atomium.
Further information can be found on its website http://www.minieurope.com/en/index.html
PRACTICAL DETAILS Getting there: Junction 8 off the Brussels ring (R0), with plenty of car parking. Most is on-street and free, others can cost €3.50
Public transport: metro to Heysel (line 1A), trams to Heysel
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